What better opportunity than Thanksgiving to enjoy family and -- just for fun -- add financial literacy to the conversation.

Family and culture are important aspects of financial literacy -- especially how financial issues are communicated and demonstrated in the home.

This is what I have in mind: If you had the benefit of hindsight, what subjects do you think high school students should have learned to prepare for life after graduation? Think back to your time in high school. Would it be math? Science? Grammar? History? (I’ll be curious about your personal take. Do share your conversations by emailing me: readers@juliejason.com.)

From my perspective working with families over three decades, I do have my own point of view, which I’m happy to share in a future column after I hear from you. But first, let’s talk about what others are saying -- in this case, a survey of 1,200 U.S. adults released in October by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), a nonprofit foundation that promotes financial literacy (tinyurl.com/4r2n27hv).

The top two subjects chosen by them? Economic/personal finance education (76% of the subjects polled in mid-August of 2025) and mathematics (75%).

English/language arts was selected by 73%, followed by social studies (64%), science (63%) and computer science/digital literacy (58%).

Among the other categories were health/sex education (50%) and secondary language (21%).

The survey also asked the respondents if they had an opportunity to take a personal finance course while in school. Of those adults (675) who did not have the option for a course, 70% agreed that “the quality of your financial life would be better had you received financial education in school.” Only 11% disagreed, with 19% choosing “not sure.” And that question provides another talking point for adults to share with the younger members at the Thanksgiving table -- the importance of financial education at a young age.

NEFE is an advocate for financial education, stating that its goal is to “advance financial well-being.” NEFE started as part of the College for Financial Planning, then eventually became a separate nonprofit foundation in 1997 (tinyurl.com/3p52uxh3). NEFE also served as a founding member of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (jumpstart.org). Jump$tart’s mission is to advance financial literacy and financial equality.

NEFE’s 2025 legislative review of K-12 financial education requirements pointed out that the number of states that have passed financial literacy high school graduation requirement legislation had increased to 29, meaning that “73% of high school students in the country will receive a financial literacy education before they graduate.” As a comparison, NEFE noted that “only 9% of high school students received a financial literacy education in 2017” (tinyurl.com/ycxca9b8).

While education is a key component of NEFE’s Personal Finance Ecosystem framework for financial well-being (tinyurl.com/bdsdtwrt), another important aspect involves the foundational factors of family and values.

If your Thanksgiving conversation leads to financial literacy education, consider taking part in some other financial literacy “games” that you can share with younger family members. Jump$tart has a section on its website called Reality Check, which allows students to “see the level of income you will need to support the life you imagine” (tinyurl.com/bdc9vh3j). The tool asks questions about housing and food, transportation, clothing and other expenses, and then gives feedback on how much you have to make to support your lifestyle. It also offers a list of jobs that would support the lifestyle you chose.

Investor.gov, a website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, provides a monthly quiz that tests investing and financial knowledge (tinyurl.com/3tjufrcb). After you complete the quiz, you will receive explanations related to the answers.

Other options include the Junior Achievement Money Quiz, which includes resources at the end of the quiz (tinyurl.com/5arfvzn2), and FINRA’s Financial Knowledge Quiz, which offers explanations for the correct answers (tinyurl.com/2wyr882b).

Holiday gatherings are the perfect time to share personal history and wisdom along with grateful appreciation of friends and family. And perhaps you will agree that humanizing financial literacy education through personal experiences can indeed be fun. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

A marriage may be over in the minds of a couple when they decide to get divorced. But, in reality, time needs to pass from that moment until the final dissolution. There will be negotiations, discussions and disagreements along the way, all of which can be resolved as long as both parties are willing to address change with dignity, respect and kindness for each other.

Let me share some in-the-trenches insights from my three decades working with high-net-worth families, as well as lessons from FINRA's "6 Tips for Managing Investments Through Divorce" (tinyurl.com/jv4hp6vy).

1. Update Account Beneficiaries

My view is that both parties will need to address all beneficiary designations to determine whether soon-to-be-former spouses should inherit assets. FINRA goes further, saying bluntly: "If you don't want your spouse to be the beneficiary on your investment accounts, contact your brokerage firm to remove your spouse's name and designate one or more new beneficiaries."

2. Get Access to Investment Accounts

From my perspective, in a healthy marriage (and a reasonable dissolution), both spouses need to know about all accounts, whether joint or individually owned.

FINRA offers specifics: "Do I know about all investment, bank or other financial accounts that I might be entitled to? How is each account set up -- in my name or my spouse's name only, jointly held or some other way? Do I have the account numbers, login credentials, contact information and other necessary information to access these accounts? Am I able to make decisions in these accounts?"

3. Consider Whether to Keep or Sell Assets

Based on my experience, it's best to make decisions on individual holdings together.

FINRA's call: "Before you sell any assets, consider the tax consequences and other possible costs or penalties. In standard, taxable accounts, selling securities can trigger capital gains taxes. And some assets, such as annuities, can come with steep penalties if you exit the investment early."

4. Decide How to Divide Taxable Investment Accounts

I agree with FINRA that "[s]plitting up assets between spouses will involve different processes. For taxable accounts, such as a brokerage account you own jointly with your spouse, you typically must notify the financial institution in writing to request that the joint account be closed and that new, separate accounts be opened in each person's name. The letter should detail how to allocate the investment assets between the two accounts."

You may want to take quick action if you are "worried about actions your spouse might take regarding a joint brokerage account -- investments or withdrawals you disagree with, for instance. You can contact your financial institution and ask whether the account can be frozen until you reach an agreement on how to divide your assets."

5. Evaluate Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts take special knowledge and special care. This is when you want your CPA and attorney involved.

As FINRA points out, "In most states, retirement account assets generally are considered marital property, which means your spouse might be entitled to a portion of these assets."

A special court order (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) may be required to split a spouse's 401(k), 403(b) or pension, while an IRA can be handled under a separation agreement or divorce decree. Understand if income taxes will be triggered by your decisions.

6. Enlist the Help of Professionals

I agree with FINRA that "[d]ividing financial assets during divorce can be overwhelming." I also agree that expert counsel is needed. "Choose someone with the right experience to help with estate planning and other investment-related issues. Also consider working with an investment professional and an accountant to understand the tax implications of your decisions."

Divorce is an end to a joint venture. During the potentially disruptive negotiation period when the future is yet to be designed, it's helpful to remember that time will take you through a series of decisions that will eventually come to a resolution. And, in some cases, as with co-parenting, that joint venture will be redefined, not eliminated.

The process is all about traveling through time with dignity, decorum and experienced counsel who aren't looking to win big. The best counsel wants both parties to move into a healthy next stage of life as former spouses.

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

The subject of having multiple traditional (tax-deferred) IRA accounts came up recently in a presentation I was giving on QCDs. The context was donating IRA money to charity after age 73 during the IRA's required minimum distribution (RMD) phase. (By the way, if you would like to be invited to in-person or online presentations, be sure to check juliejason.com/events, or write to me at readers@juliejason.com.)

A related question about multiple IRAs came to me from a reader ("Hank"), age 75, who has five traditional IRAs that he would like to consolidate.

While I don't have statistics on the prevalence of multiple traditional IRAs, in my personal experience working with families for over 30 years, I do see multiple IRAs. For example, when you're in your working years, you might set up a separate IRA to capture assets transferred from a 401(k) when you change jobs. Or you could have a separate IRA to house precious metals (only certain IRA custodians offer custody of precious metals). Or you could have inherited an IRA, which cannot be combined with your own IRA (with an exception for spouses).

But, beyond that, I'll always question the rationale behind having multiple traditional IRA accounts. One answer could be diversification, which usually means having accounts at multiple brokerage firms that might offer different levels of service or different investment products -- all potentially good reasons when you are below RMD age.

After reaching age 73, a complication arises. Each year, a mandated dollar amount must be withdrawn from your traditional IRAs to satisfy RMDs.

RMDs are based on the previous year's Dec. 31 values of the retirement accounts (see IRS webpage "Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs" at tinyurl.com/y9wajm4z).

Question 4 on the IRS FAQs page asks, "How is the amount of the required minimum distribution calculated?" The answer: "Generally, a RMD is calculated for each account by dividing the prior December 31 balance of that IRA or retirement plan account by a life expectancy factor that the IRS publishes in Tables in Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)."

The life expectancy tables include Table I (single life expectancy), Table II (joint and last survivor life expectancy) and the most-used table, Table III (uniform lifetime).

Assume that on Dec. 31, 2024, Hank had four IRAs totaling $1 million. When he looks up the amount he needs to take in RMDs for 2025, he finds that the divisor for his age (75) is 24.6 (in Table III). That means he will need to take RMDs totaling about $41,000 in 2025, using the RMD calculator at Investor.gov (tinyurl.com/4et8e684).

According to the answer to Question 5 on the IRS FAQs page, "An IRA owner must calculate the RMD separately for each IRA they own but can withdraw the total amount from one or more of the IRAs."

Hank is free to take this total amount from any one of his IRAs or to spread the RMD among his IRAs. (By the way, this does not apply to 401(k)s -- each 401(k) has a separate RMD requirement. Read more about this rule in "Required Minimum Distributions: Know Your Deadlines" at the FINRA website -- tinyurl.com/27k846uz.)

Once taken, the RMDs are taxable as income. The answer to IRS FAQs Question 11 states "The account owner is taxed at their income tax rate on the amount of the withdrawn RMD. However, to the extent the RMD is a return of basis or is a qualified distribution from a Roth IRA, it is tax free."

Upon reaching RMD age, amounts and timing both have to be managed to avoid tax penalties (25% of the amount that was not timely withdrawn). If there is a desire to donate RMD money to charity through a QCD, that's another layer of recordkeeping. And, eventually, those IRAs and RMDs will transfer to beneficiaries, whose interests should also be considered. That leads to favoring consolidation in many situations.

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION